Death Valley National Park Suspends Sporting Events
Death Valley National Park bans athletic events in 2014 pending a "safety review," questions whether such events are "an appropriate Park use," and claims they "may be setting a national precedent" which could lead to a Park Service-wide ban on cycling, running, and other events.
This dramatic turn of events is a result of the position being taken by Death Valley National Park (DVNP), as per their website:
Effective immediately Death Valley National Park will temporarily discontinue issuance of running and bicycling event permits. Future event permits will not be considered until a thorough safety evaluation of this type of activity has been completed.
This statement on the DVNP website was the only "notification" made to us regarding this dramatic turn of events. We received no direct communication of any kind that events would not be allowed within DVNP in 2014. (DVNP later posted a broader statement on Christmas eve, yes, really, on Christmas eve. That statement's suggestion that permit applications may be submitted for review at the end of summer for events held after October 1 doesn't acknowledge the reality that events can not be created and hosted in just a few weeks, plus there is no point in applying to host events when the new guidelines and requirements are unknown.)
This "safety review" is not being undertaken as a result of any serious incident or accident within the Park. It is not being undertaken as a result of any significant number of complaints. It is being undertaken purely under the prerogative of a few DVNP employees, most notably the Park Superintendent, Kathleen Billings, who assumed leadership of the Park in March of 2013.
Adventure Corps, a leading, established, well known and reputable event organiser, with several events now post poned, go on to add:
Besides the immediate impact to our, and other, events held annually within Death Valley National Park, this development is particularly unsettling for several reasons, including:
- It is unprecedented to place a one-year ban on existing sporting events within a National Park without any specific incident, accident, or complaint triggering such a drastic move. It is our contention that the events should be allowed to continue while the "safety review" unfolds.
- During a recent meeting with DVNP staff, they stated "other Parks are watching us" and "we might be setting a national precedent." Even a one-year ban on events is NOT a precedent that anybody who enjoys cycling or running events within National Parks would support. There are successful and popular cycling and running events held within National Parks across America; they could all be in jeopardy now.
- This "safety review" process is essentially open-ended. DVNP staff stated that they hope to complete their analysis by the end of the March, except they "all have full-time jobs even without dealing with events and reviewing them." After the analysis is complete, they intend to "send it up the chain" to the regional office in San Francisco, and then likely from there it would be transmitted to the national office in Washington, DC. Their best prediction is that the results and recommendations of this review would not be finalized until the end of September, 2014. As the Furnace Creek Ranch will not honor our special rooming blocks for our events under such a circumstance, this review effectively rules out any events happening in 2014 since we can not host events for which there is nowhere to stay.
- The final result of this "safety review" is completely unclear. It could be the case that the DVNP staff will determine that sporting events are not "an appropriate Park use" and thus the one-year ban could become a permanent ban. Other National Parks could then use the Death Valley precedent to ban events in Parks across the country. Alternatively, while the ban may not become permanent, the "safety review" could result in onerous, expensive, and perhaps effectively impossible or untenable additional requirements placed upon all would-be event organizers in Death Valley and elsewhere. Besides, Federal guidelines approved and mandated by the NPS already exist to govern and regulate both cycling events and running events held within National Parks.
Our primary concern is two-fold: first, the economic impact and associated loss of unique Death Valley National Park experiences in 2014 due to the moratorium on the events is devastating to local businesses and athletes alike; secondly, there is the high potential that this "safety review" could result in onerous, expensive, and perhaps effectively impossible or untenable additional requirements placed upon all would-be event organizers.
If you feel strongly about this matter and wish to have your voice heard, we encourage you to direct your letters via US Postal Service to the following:
Senator Dianne Feinstein
331 Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Senator Barbara Boxer
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Representative Col. Paul Cook (Ret.)
8th Congressional District
1222 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Sally Jewell
Secretary of the Interior
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW
Washington DC 20240
Mr. Jon Jarvis, Director
National Park Service
1849 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20240
Ms. Christine Lehnertz, Regional Director
National Perk Service - Pacific West Division
333 Bush Street, Suite 500
San Francisco, CA 94104-2828
Even if you do not live in California, please do not hesitate to write to the California Senators and Congressman; this state's economy is largely built upon tourism and thus all our elected officials appreciate the hard-earned dollars spent here by athletes from across the continent and around the world.
Stage 1 - Le Perray-en-Yvelines
